Early FREUD
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Freud Groups UK II
Chronology : 1980-1989 1980 1983 1987
See also : Freud Groups UK II
Chronology : 1980-1989 1980 1983 1987
1945-1946 Scillonian Beachscape
2023 SOLD for £ 4.6M by Christie's
A grandson of the inventor of psychoanalysis, Lucian Freud had an early interest in plants and in stuffed animals. Commenting much later his portraits of humans, he said : ‘I’m really interested in them as animals’.
He was inspired by Surrealism. The realistic drawing of a lobster, executed in 1944 and sold for £ 1.96M on March 1, 2022 by Christie's, lot 37, may be a a reminiscence of Dali's use of the same animal as a telephone. In the same year his Painter's Room features a gigantic stuffed head of a zebra invading his room filled with various disparate objects in the early style of Magritte.
In the summer 1945 the war is over. Lucian and his roommate the Arcadian minded painter John Craxton, both aged 23, desire to travel the world. They find a sunny atmosphere in the British Isles of Scilly off the beloved Cornwall coast of Hepworth and Nicholson.
Scillonian Beachscape is an idyllic scenery executed in the winter 1945-1946 in London. Beach, sea and sky in bright colors remind the paradisiac atmosphere of the trip. On the left side a puffin is proudly perched on a spheric pebble with a difference of scale in the style of Magritte. A single sea-holly is raised in the foreground.
This oil on canvas 52 x 77 cm as sold for £ 4.6M from a lower estimate of £ 3.5M by Christie's on February 28, 2023, lot 11.
Their next trip was for the Aegean islands.
He was inspired by Surrealism. The realistic drawing of a lobster, executed in 1944 and sold for £ 1.96M on March 1, 2022 by Christie's, lot 37, may be a a reminiscence of Dali's use of the same animal as a telephone. In the same year his Painter's Room features a gigantic stuffed head of a zebra invading his room filled with various disparate objects in the early style of Magritte.
In the summer 1945 the war is over. Lucian and his roommate the Arcadian minded painter John Craxton, both aged 23, desire to travel the world. They find a sunny atmosphere in the British Isles of Scilly off the beloved Cornwall coast of Hepworth and Nicholson.
Scillonian Beachscape is an idyllic scenery executed in the winter 1945-1946 in London. Beach, sea and sky in bright colors remind the paradisiac atmosphere of the trip. On the left side a puffin is proudly perched on a spheric pebble with a difference of scale in the style of Magritte. A single sea-holly is raised in the foreground.
This oil on canvas 52 x 77 cm as sold for £ 4.6M from a lower estimate of £ 3.5M by Christie's on February 28, 2023, lot 11.
Their next trip was for the Aegean islands.
1952 Charlie
2011 SOLD for £ 3.2M by Sotheby's
In London in the 1950s, two figurative painters renew in their own way, but both without complacency, the theme ofthe human figure.
While Bacon develops a blurred vision to express his disgust, Lucian Freud does the opposite and shows the almost animal ugliness of the human being by a meticulous approach to realism.
For the grandson of the psychoanalyst, the Other is a mystery that he must tirelessly seek to resolve. He reached a hyper-realistic effect without using photography, by an endless close observation of his sitter.
In 1952, Charlie, an English boy whom Lucian had known for several years, was obligingly playing the role of the model. The reason is simple: Lucian's friends were afraid that the troubles of the heterosexual life of the artist could lead to a fatal act, and invited the young man to create a diversion by accepting this ordeal.
The result is interesting. Like all figures by Lucian, Charlie did get ugly, with his slightly twisted face, his unruly hairand his weary eyes. The operation was successful: the artist did not commit suicide.
The portrait of Charlie by Lucian, oil on canvas 22 x 16 cm, was sold for £ 3.2M by Sotheby's on October 13, 2011. It is shown in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
While Bacon develops a blurred vision to express his disgust, Lucian Freud does the opposite and shows the almost animal ugliness of the human being by a meticulous approach to realism.
For the grandson of the psychoanalyst, the Other is a mystery that he must tirelessly seek to resolve. He reached a hyper-realistic effect without using photography, by an endless close observation of his sitter.
In 1952, Charlie, an English boy whom Lucian had known for several years, was obligingly playing the role of the model. The reason is simple: Lucian's friends were afraid that the troubles of the heterosexual life of the artist could lead to a fatal act, and invited the young man to create a diversion by accepting this ordeal.
The result is interesting. Like all figures by Lucian, Charlie did get ugly, with his slightly twisted face, his unruly hairand his weary eyes. The operation was successful: the artist did not commit suicide.
The portrait of Charlie by Lucian, oil on canvas 22 x 16 cm, was sold for £ 3.2M by Sotheby's on October 13, 2011. It is shown in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
1956 Garech Browne
2019 SOLD for £ 5.8M by Sotheby's
The Guinness family has built a huge fortune with which many of its members have played and are still playing an important role in Irish society and culture.
Oonagh Guinness is the youngest of three blue-eyed blonde sisters, nicknamed the Golden Guinness Girls in the British society of the 1920s. She is the hostess at Luggala, a countryside mansion in Wicklow which she makes an enchanting place for poets, musicians and artists.
Lucian Freud visits Luggala with his first wife and falls in love with a cousin of the hostess. He marries this cousin, a very pretty child-woman.
Garech Browne is the eldest son of Oonagh. Freud undertakes his cultural training with great success. Browne will continue the socialite tradition of his mother. A friend of all the outstanding personalities of the show business, he will also be a major figure in the revival and preservation of the Irish traditional music.
Lucian is outside from all the trends of modern painting. Pretending to reconnect with a tradition of antique Egypt, he already practices an endless observation of his sitters, in search of realism at the expense of beauty. The use of brushes in very fine sable hair gives an unprecedented accuracy and psychological truth to his close-up views of faces in very small formats.
The portrait of Garech by Lucian, oil on canvas 18 x 18 cm, was painted in 1956 when the boy was sixteen years old. The face is introspective. Recognizing the important role of Lucian in his cultural education, Garech kept this painting in Luggala throughout his life. It was sold for £ 5.8M from a lower estimate of £ 4.5M by Sotheby's on March 5, 2019, lot 14. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Oonagh Guinness is the youngest of three blue-eyed blonde sisters, nicknamed the Golden Guinness Girls in the British society of the 1920s. She is the hostess at Luggala, a countryside mansion in Wicklow which she makes an enchanting place for poets, musicians and artists.
Lucian Freud visits Luggala with his first wife and falls in love with a cousin of the hostess. He marries this cousin, a very pretty child-woman.
Garech Browne is the eldest son of Oonagh. Freud undertakes his cultural training with great success. Browne will continue the socialite tradition of his mother. A friend of all the outstanding personalities of the show business, he will also be a major figure in the revival and preservation of the Irish traditional music.
Lucian is outside from all the trends of modern painting. Pretending to reconnect with a tradition of antique Egypt, he already practices an endless observation of his sitters, in search of realism at the expense of beauty. The use of brushes in very fine sable hair gives an unprecedented accuracy and psychological truth to his close-up views of faces in very small formats.
The portrait of Garech by Lucian, oil on canvas 18 x 18 cm, was painted in 1956 when the boy was sixteen years old. The face is introspective. Recognizing the important role of Lucian in his cultural education, Garech kept this painting in Luggala throughout his life. It was sold for £ 5.8M from a lower estimate of £ 4.5M by Sotheby's on March 5, 2019, lot 14. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
1956-1957 Francis Bacon
2008 SOLD for £ 5.4M by Christie's
In the portrait heads of their friends, Freud and Bacon had an opposite approach. In the 1960s, Bacon relied on photos without the physical presence of a model.
Freud could not use photos. He caught the model in interminable sessions in his studio during several months. He was peering through repeated close up inspections all the dissymmetries, stains and defects of the skin, on the face and on the body. He added layer over layer without erasing up to a deep impasto, creating a sort of paint sculpture on the canvas. He had to overcome his or her impatience by his chat, made of wit and gossip. He is a Western Scheherazade.
Famously, by temperament, Bacon could not play that game. His portrait by Freud in 1956-1957 was left unfinished. This oil and charcoal on canvas 35 x 35 cm was sold for £ 5.4M by Christie's on November 19, 2008, lot 19.
Freud could not use photos. He caught the model in interminable sessions in his studio during several months. He was peering through repeated close up inspections all the dissymmetries, stains and defects of the skin, on the face and on the body. He added layer over layer without erasing up to a deep impasto, creating a sort of paint sculpture on the canvas. He had to overcome his or her impatience by his chat, made of wit and gossip. He is a Western Scheherazade.
Famously, by temperament, Bacon could not play that game. His portrait by Freud in 1956-1957 was left unfinished. This oil and charcoal on canvas 35 x 35 cm was sold for £ 5.4M by Christie's on November 19, 2008, lot 19.
1960-1961 Head on a Green Sofa
2014 SOLD for £ 3M by Sotheby's
The realization of a portrait by Lucian Freud is a quest for empathy with the subject. His perfectionist approach was terrible for his sitters although the endless hours of the session were mitigated by the wit of his speech. It was also challenging for the artist himself, the intense and close up view of the subject causing him headaches.
In 1960, Freud understands that he can not maintain such a rigor. He changes his brushes to enable a faster drawing that will also change the angle of view and lead to focus on the psychological expression through color.
For such portraits, Freud could only work with people he knew well. Lady Lambton, nicknamed Bindy, was among them. No matter that her face is too hard, her chin too long and her hair too thick, the extreme realism of the portraits by Freud could only appeal to the model.
Wife of a parliamentarian, Bindy led in London the life of a worldly woman, friend of artists. Later, the husband will lose in a prostitution affair his position in the British government.
On February 12, 2014, Sotheby's sold for £ 3M a portrait of Bindy titled Head on a green sofa, oil on canvas 92 x 92 cm.
This painting made in 1960-1961 benefited from the new phase in the art of Freud with an interesting view from above model's head, in an angle that he could not have been able to achieve with his earlier method of almost biological inspection of the sitter. The resemblance between portraits and photos of Bindy is striking.
In 1960, Freud understands that he can not maintain such a rigor. He changes his brushes to enable a faster drawing that will also change the angle of view and lead to focus on the psychological expression through color.
For such portraits, Freud could only work with people he knew well. Lady Lambton, nicknamed Bindy, was among them. No matter that her face is too hard, her chin too long and her hair too thick, the extreme realism of the portraits by Freud could only appeal to the model.
Wife of a parliamentarian, Bindy led in London the life of a worldly woman, friend of artists. Later, the husband will lose in a prostitution affair his position in the British government.
On February 12, 2014, Sotheby's sold for £ 3M a portrait of Bindy titled Head on a green sofa, oil on canvas 92 x 92 cm.
This painting made in 1960-1961 benefited from the new phase in the art of Freud with an interesting view from above model's head, in an angle that he could not have been able to achieve with his earlier method of almost biological inspection of the sitter. The resemblance between portraits and photos of Bindy is striking.
1961 Pregnant Girl
2016 SOLD for £ 16M by Sotheby's
Lucian Freud is a creator. In his time when birth control is uncertain and controversial, he gives life. He expresses through his art the feelings brought to him by these events.
Life in Soho is conducive to these stories of another time. In 1959, Bernadine is 16 and wishing to escape a too rigorous education. Lucian is twenty years older. On the following year, she is pregnant with their first daughter, Bella. Francis and Bernadine are deeply and sincerely in love, but not enough to live together. Their relationship, however, is sustainable: a second birth will follow and their friendship will last until the end of their lives, a few days apart in 2011.
The art of his friend Francis Bacon is resolutely modern. Expression has replaced realism. Lucian wants to follow this path and observes Bernadine with a renewed attention. The theme of the sleeping woman, previously experienced by Picasso with Marie-Thérèse, is conducive to confidence and privacy. Lucian is perhaps not yet the incorrigible talkative of his later career: he lets Bernadine asleep.
On February 10, 2016, Sotheby's sold for £ 16M from a lower estimate of £ 7M Pregnant girl, lot 17. This oil on canvas 91 x 71 cm is a larger than life bust portrait achieved in 1961 showing Bernadine within a deep sleep. Her turned head avoids both the lover and the viewer. Lucian had seen the effects of pregnancy on the naked flesh of the torso.
Life in Soho is conducive to these stories of another time. In 1959, Bernadine is 16 and wishing to escape a too rigorous education. Lucian is twenty years older. On the following year, she is pregnant with their first daughter, Bella. Francis and Bernadine are deeply and sincerely in love, but not enough to live together. Their relationship, however, is sustainable: a second birth will follow and their friendship will last until the end of their lives, a few days apart in 2011.
The art of his friend Francis Bacon is resolutely modern. Expression has replaced realism. Lucian wants to follow this path and observes Bernadine with a renewed attention. The theme of the sleeping woman, previously experienced by Picasso with Marie-Thérèse, is conducive to confidence and privacy. Lucian is perhaps not yet the incorrigible talkative of his later career: he lets Bernadine asleep.
On February 10, 2016, Sotheby's sold for £ 16M from a lower estimate of £ 7M Pregnant girl, lot 17. This oil on canvas 91 x 71 cm is a larger than life bust portrait achieved in 1961 showing Bernadine within a deep sleep. Her turned head avoids both the lover and the viewer. Lucian had seen the effects of pregnancy on the naked flesh of the torso.
1980 Naked Portrait with Reflection by Freud
2008 SOLD for £ 11.8M by Christie's
A young woman who is featuring her full nudity in the studio of Lucian Freud must not feel obliged to listen to his endless stories. A snooze or a sleep is instead more conducive to that intimate smiling which is a natural expectation for all women.
Naked portrait with reflection, oil on canvas 91 x 91 cm painted in 1980, was sold for £ 11.8M by Christie's on June 30, 2008, lot 18.
The fully grown nude body is comfortably laying on her back on the signature green sofa of the artist's studio. She is viewed downward in a diagonal with a relaxed position of her limbs. The right knee is resting on a small cushion while the foot is crossing the other leg. The eyes are open for some happy day dream, in a deliberate ignorance to the artist. Gradually applied swirls of oil paint are capturing the details in her curves.
The reflection addressed in the title refers to a pair of male shoed feet and lower pants behind the sofa which are considered as a selfie of that peeping artist who once said : "Living people interest me far more than anything else. I'm really interested in them as animals". That word was sometimes used by Lucian for self portraits reflected in a mirror.
Naked portrait with reflection, oil on canvas 91 x 91 cm painted in 1980, was sold for £ 11.8M by Christie's on June 30, 2008, lot 18.
The fully grown nude body is comfortably laying on her back on the signature green sofa of the artist's studio. She is viewed downward in a diagonal with a relaxed position of her limbs. The right knee is resting on a small cushion while the foot is crossing the other leg. The eyes are open for some happy day dream, in a deliberate ignorance to the artist. Gradually applied swirls of oil paint are capturing the details in her curves.
The reflection addressed in the title refers to a pair of male shoed feet and lower pants behind the sofa which are considered as a selfie of that peeping artist who once said : "Living people interest me far more than anything else. I'm really interested in them as animals". That word was sometimes used by Lucian for self portraits reflected in a mirror.
1982-1983 Esther
2016 SOLD for £ 4.8M by Christie's
Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon influenced each other, although their styles are different. Both admit that they can not do the portrait of people to whom they are not close. The bright color and thick paste participate in their reconstruction of life. A small format 36 x 31 cm is suitable for the picture of a head.
In the early 1980s, Lucian discovers with amazement that his elder children began their lives of young adults. He offers them the long sittings that create the necessary empathy.
The method of Lucian with his models is in the opposite to Francis who works only with photographs and with his memory. Lucian is a charmer. He literally makes his models glowing by telling stories, singing, sharing extraordinary foods. The word 'glowing' was chosen by Esther Freud to express her feelings during these long hours.
On February 11, 2016, Christie's sells the Head of Esther as lot 15 and the Head of Ib as lot 16. Both paintings that can form a pair come from the same "important private European collection" and are estimated £ 2.5M each. Esther was sold for £ 4.8M and Ib for £ 2.55M.
Esther, born in 1963, began the process in 1982-1983 and Ib, born in 1961, took over in 1983-1984. The physical resemblance of the half sisters allowed a similar technique. The image is almost a living sculpture with the flesh of the cheek expressed by a thick colored impasto and the hair combed by the brush of the artist.
The two young women have their head on the pillow which is the most comfortable position during the long viewings by the father. When Esther is on the left and Ib on the right, they face each other. In their attitude of full confidence, Esther opens her eyes and Ib sleeps. The reflection in the eye of Esther strengthens her presence.
In the early 1980s, Lucian discovers with amazement that his elder children began their lives of young adults. He offers them the long sittings that create the necessary empathy.
The method of Lucian with his models is in the opposite to Francis who works only with photographs and with his memory. Lucian is a charmer. He literally makes his models glowing by telling stories, singing, sharing extraordinary foods. The word 'glowing' was chosen by Esther Freud to express her feelings during these long hours.
On February 11, 2016, Christie's sells the Head of Esther as lot 15 and the Head of Ib as lot 16. Both paintings that can form a pair come from the same "important private European collection" and are estimated £ 2.5M each. Esther was sold for £ 4.8M and Ib for £ 2.55M.
Esther, born in 1963, began the process in 1982-1983 and Ib, born in 1961, took over in 1983-1984. The physical resemblance of the half sisters allowed a similar technique. The image is almost a living sculpture with the flesh of the cheek expressed by a thick colored impasto and the hair combed by the brush of the artist.
The two young women have their head on the pillow which is the most comfortable position during the long viewings by the father. When Esther is on the left and Ib on the right, they face each other. In their attitude of full confidence, Esther opens her eyes and Ib sleeps. The reflection in the eye of Esther strengthens her presence.
1983 After Watteau
2022 SOLD for $ 86M by Christie's
Lucian Freud was keen to confront his art with antique or ancient masterpieces.
In 1981 the renowned collector Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza is sitting in Lucian's studio in London for a portrait, achieved in 1982. Behind the head, the artist paints in a fair rendering a half hidden replica of a small fête galante by Watteau recently acquired by the Baron.
The Watteau, titled Pierrot content, features five characters in a garden, four of them seated in a row on a bench. A pretty Columbine is playing mandolin. Lucian will transfer this scene into his own universe in a stand alone picture.
Lucian's oil on canvas, titled Large Interior, W11 (After Watteau) is completed in 1983. It is unprecedented in Lucian Freud's art by its size, 185 x 198 cm, by the staging of more than two characters, and by the fact that the sitters dis not attend together the posing sessions.
It is typical by its very thick impasto and by the fact that Watteau's figures have been replaced by close relatives including his daughter Bella playing Columbine with the mandolin.
The rest of it is Lucian's fancy. The scene is staged in his studio, also referred by the part post code W11 in the title. Watteau's charming high society faces are replaced by unpleasantly concerned figures in creased attire, two of them bare foot.The fountain is now a sink with a running tap. The bench had been recently acquired by Lucian for £ 7.
After Watteau was sold for $ 86M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 34.
In 1981 the renowned collector Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza is sitting in Lucian's studio in London for a portrait, achieved in 1982. Behind the head, the artist paints in a fair rendering a half hidden replica of a small fête galante by Watteau recently acquired by the Baron.
The Watteau, titled Pierrot content, features five characters in a garden, four of them seated in a row on a bench. A pretty Columbine is playing mandolin. Lucian will transfer this scene into his own universe in a stand alone picture.
Lucian's oil on canvas, titled Large Interior, W11 (After Watteau) is completed in 1983. It is unprecedented in Lucian Freud's art by its size, 185 x 198 cm, by the staging of more than two characters, and by the fact that the sitters dis not attend together the posing sessions.
It is typical by its very thick impasto and by the fact that Watteau's figures have been replaced by close relatives including his daughter Bella playing Columbine with the mandolin.
The rest of it is Lucian's fancy. The scene is staged in his studio, also referred by the part post code W11 in the title. Watteau's charming high society faces are replaced by unpleasantly concerned figures in creased attire, two of them bare foot.The fountain is now a sink with a running tap. The bench had been recently acquired by Lucian for £ 7.
After Watteau was sold for $ 86M by Christie's on November 9, 2022, lot 34.
1986-1987 Girl with Closed Eyes
2022 SOLD for £ 15.2M by Christie's
Girl with closed eyes, oil on canvas 46 x 60 cm painted by Lucian Freud in 1986 and 1987, is the tender portrait of a serene girl with a quiet smile through her slightly parting lips. Its model is identified as Janey, a friend of the artist. It displays the details of the flesh in the thick impasto of a wide range of hues of the skin.
While the nude figure is here cropped below the breast, it may be seen in the following of the Naked portrait with reflection painted in 1980, sold for £ 11.8M by Christie's in 2008. In both examples the fully grown woman is reclined on her back in a relaxed attitude and viewed from above in a diagonal composition.
Girl with closed eyes was sold for £ 15.2M from a lower estimate of £ 10M by Christie's on March 1, 2022, lot 36.
While the nude figure is here cropped below the breast, it may be seen in the following of the Naked portrait with reflection painted in 1980, sold for £ 11.8M by Christie's in 2008. In both examples the fully grown woman is reclined on her back in a relaxed attitude and viewed from above in a diagonal composition.
Girl with closed eyes was sold for £ 15.2M from a lower estimate of £ 10M by Christie's on March 1, 2022, lot 36.
